torsdag 9. mai 2013

Concert Review - Eivør Palsdottir (Hamar - AnJazz)

Those who know me well are familiar with my bias towards the Faroese singer Eivør Palsdottir. Ever since I first heard a clip of her singing about four, maybe five years ago, I was absolutely captivated by her voice and the very soul of her music. It is hard to describe why I like her music so much. My best guess is the eclectic mix of traditional elements I can relate to as a Scandinavian and the modern mix of various genres. I was trying to think of how to describe it one day and came to the conclusion that her music is simply Eivør Music.

Feel free to listen while reading:

As you probably understand, this review will be slightly (okay, very!) biased and full of praise, but I will allow myself this privilege.

First things first. Her voice shines with exellence. I would go as far as saying that singing is her native language. I got the feeling that she was playing around with the various notes, high and low, without any hesitation or force. She's simply a natural. From the reactions of people around me, everyone were stunned at the vocal performance. Most of the time, artists tone down the vocal range when performing live, but in this case it is completely the opposite.

It is also easy to see how she lives within the music itself. With every strange gesture and flick of the hand, her entire body reflects the music that's being transmitted to the audience. A joy to the eye as well.

Her band and backup singers offered a new dimension and depth to the songs. I especially enjoyed the dark arrangement with a heavy, almost house like beat for "Nu brennur tu i mær". Absolutely fitting to the song. The sound was tight, well rounded and professional. Only once did the bass get too intense, and I noticed the bass player correcting it immediately, good job. Props to the musicians and sound technicians.

My favorite moment of the entire concert has to be Eivør all by herself, only with the company of a drum. Trøllabundin is one of the first of her songs that I heard and also one that made me intrigued. Throat singing in its various forms isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I find it to be an interesting contrast to the beautiful bird twittering singing. The moments where she mixed elements of throat singing and various jumping sounds I will only describe as one thing, cool. I had hoped for it to happen and I was not disappointed!

I had hoped for a couple of songs from Larva, which is my favorite album by her, but it is completely understandable to focus on the latest album. If I had the joyous option of making my own set list, I probably would have included Undo Your Mind, Min Modir, Vøka and Livandi Trø. Nevertheless, I was completely satisfied and was smiling inside out the entire evening.

My inner fangirl was pleased as well. After I bought the "Room" LP, I asked the man selling them if she would come out. He told me that if I stuck around a bit, she just might. So I waited for a while. After 15 minutes, I knew I had to leave soon and my heart sank as I understood it probably wouldn't happen. Suddenly the guy selling the album nodded at me. He asked if I was still waiting, which I obviously was. He told me to wait a little bit and went off. How exciting!

In my mind, I had planned what to say. But when I actually met her, it was just like the Katie Melua song where she's 22, but acting 17 (Except I am 25!). I thought I had learned to be calm, but there I was, starstruck. I got to tell her a couple of things and she complimented my necklace.

2 kommentarer:

I also am very biased in favor of Eivør. :) Wonderful review! I had my own fangirl moment when she did a concert near my neck of the woods (Washington DC, USA). I also wrote a concert review on my blog, but yours is much better. :)